The Razor Cuts 2008 WPT Legends to Pieces

By Arthur Crowson Aug 29, 2008 | 4 months ago

John Phan, Legends of Poker - Day 5, World Poker Tour - Season 7

There is no question that, right now, John Phan is the hottest poker player in the world.

We're not talking about his suave shades or blinging jewelry, either. The man wins poker tournaments.

Late Thursday night (technically early Friday) Phan secured his first WPT victory and largest poker cash ever at the 2008 Legends of Poker at the Bike in L.A.

Phan managed to outlast all his final-table competition and then go toe-to-toe with the incredibly talented Amit Makhiji.

After a marathon match of heads-up poker that lasted close to four hours, Phan finally defeated Makhiji and became a true legend of poker.

PL.com chatted with the pro just moments after the big show.

First of all John, there seems to be no one hotter than you right now. What is it about your game right now that you keep making final tables and winning bracelets?

I'm playing good and I'm definitely running well. I've been catching a lot of cards and when I'm behind I seem to catch up. I'm not making a lot of mistakes either.


That's one happy Razor.

How far does this success go toward feeding your confidence?

It goes a long way. I mean it's like Mike [Sexton] said. I've made final tables in about half of the WPT seasons and it has really helped me become a better player. I think I'm even leading the Player of the Year contest right now ...

Yeah it looks like you've got it all locked up ...

It's crazy. It's such a big accomplishment. I can't believe it's happening.

Did you have a general strategy heading into tonight's final table?

Yeah - I didn't want to play a big pot against [Makhiji] at first and I wanted to pick my spot. I finally found my spot but I didn't win my race against him. I was actually pretty lucky though.


amak316 ran amok at the final table.

How would you describe the action between you?

Our cards were funny. We just kept sucking out on each other. It didn't matter who had the best hand - the short stack always won. That's how poker is. You win some; you lose some.

What was going through your head in the big Q-9 versus A-6 hand that you lost?

He didn't have many chips so I moved in on him. I didn't mind doing a coin flip against him. I managed to hit the flop but he ended up winning. He had the best hand before the flop and it ended up winning.

It was an extremely long heads-up match. How did you manage to keep sharp?

I told myself to just stay focused and never give up. I'd been playing the short stack for four days already so it wasn't that hard to play from behind. I was really patient and it worked out.

What did you think of Amit as a player?

He's really good. He plays a lot online. I played with him a lot. I was pretty tired today and I had to hold back against him sometimes. I actually had a pretty good read on him.


Catch me if you can, Erik Seidel.

How does it feel to have everyone now chasing you in the Player of the Year? How will you close out the year?

It's still a long ways. I mean there are several WPTs that have yet to be played and a lot of other big tournaments. It's still early. I'd like to make another WPT final table before the end of the year to really lock it up. If I do that, it's a lot.

How does this victory feel compared to your WSOP bracelets this summer?

It feels really good. I mean I've made a lot of WPT final tables and winning this one is great. My favorite was probably winning my second WSOP bracelet because no one had done that in 2008.

You are very active with charity work in Vietnam. Will some of the prize money be going there?

Yeah I want to donate some, help out my family and help out some of the unfortunate people back home. I'm really excited about that. Such a good feeling.

Thanks, John.

No problem.

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John Phan is an exceptional poker player and he will likely enjoy winning Player of the Year accolades if he gets there but you can tell his real passion is helping out back in his home country of Vietnam. There's no telling what a portion of $1.1 million will be able to do there so the real winners in this whole contest may be the less fortunate there.

It's practically legendary.